San Jose Sharks forward snubbed from Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster

For the first time since 2016, NHL players will once again take part in an international competition. In place of the 2025 All-Star Game, players will represent their countries in a best-on-best round-robin tournament. 

Today, Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster was announced. 

Forwards

Adrian Kempe (LA Kings), Gustav Nyquist (Nashville Predators), Elias Lindholm (Boston Bruins), Elias Pettersson (Vancouver Canucks), Filip Forsberg (Nashville Predators), Jesper Bratt (New Jersey Devils), Joel Eriksson Ek (Minnesota Wild), Leo Carlsson (Anaheim Ducks), Lucas Raymond (Detroit Red Wings), Mika Zibanejad (New York Rangers), Viktor Arvidsson (Edmonton Oilers), William Karlsson (Vegas Golden Knights), William Nylander (Toronto Maple Leafs)

Defensemen

Erik Karlsson (Pittsburgh Penguins), Gustav Forsling (Florida Panthers), Jonas Brodin (Minnesota Wild), Mattias Ekholm (Edmonton Oilers), Rasmus Andersson (Calgary Flames), Rasmus Dahlin (Buffalo Sabres), Victor Hedman (Tampa Bay Lightning)

Goaltenders

Filip Gustavsson (Minnesota Wild), Jacob Markström (New Jersey Devils), Linus Ullmark (Ottawa Senators)

Snubs

With all the talent in the NHL right now, it’s difficult to make the perfect team. There are several omitted players to make a case for– Fabian Zetterlund of the San Jose Sharks, Hampus Lindholm of the Boston Bruins, Marcus Pettersson and Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins– but there’s one oversight that is a bit more glaring than the rest.

William Eklund, San Jose’s 7th overall pick in 2021, is just 22 years old, but he’s already established himself as an NHL player. He has 75 points in 124 games played. This season, he’s second on the Sharks in scoring with 23 points through 27 games. It’s very surprising that Eklund has been left off of Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, especially since it was reported that he’d been chosen to represent his country. 

In such a short tournament, it’s hard to imagine that kind of offensive power being left off the roster. With less offensively talented players like Viktor Arvidsson, Leo Carlsson, and William Karlsson on the team, time will tell if this decision comes back to haunt Team Sweden.